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Jun. 10th, 2012 06:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
opusculasedferaI watched Goon this weekend, which I have been meaning to see since someone recced me this fic which is adorable and perfectly IC.
Goon was charming. I was kind of iffy about it because it's all about a guy becoming an enforcer, and I'm not really into hockey fights between guys who are actually able to hit each other because that shit's dangerous (I will admit to being amused by hockey fights between guys who are super terrible at it). But the movie was also kind of sketched out by it! It understands the appeal to the spectators and why the players like it, but is also pretty aware that people get fucked up out there and that it's not really the noblest thing ever. I was also super impressed by the movie's politics: the lead, Doug, is Jewish, his brother is gay, and the female lead is so, so great. Eva first shows up as a girl who is into fucking hockey players, sometimes behind her boyfriend's back, but it's an amazingly non-judgemental portrait. Fucking hockey players isn't the problem, the problem is only that she's doing it while trying to be monogamous. Plus they managed to write a woman whose story arc was largely about her sex life while not sexualising her much at all. The actress is beautiful, and it's made obvious that the movie agrees that she's really attractive - Doug keeps complimenting her, she obviously has fucked lots of hockey players in the past, etc. - but she wears all her clothes all the time, the clothes are super casual jeans and flannel, and most of the shots of her are of her face. Which all helps to make it a real arc about her own emotional issues (surprise, surprise, she's more into Doug than her ex) and her right to date someone she's actually into, rather than about casual sex being bad. I wasn't super into Doug letting her ex punch him for "stealing" Eva, but at least that was in character because Doug is a very black and white kind of guy who thinks punches solve things, and it's shot, like all the fights, super unsentimentally.
The character who does get judged for sex is the male secondary lead, Xavier, but it's also really clear that he's being judged for being a dick about it and not having enough sense to avoid making sextapes. There's an excellent scene where Xavier, his one night stand, and Eva are awkwardly hanging out at his and Doug's apartment, and the problem is definitely that Xavier is a dick who doesn't remember his girl's name, rather than that she shouldn't have fucked him, or comparing her to Eva who is totally in a relationship with Doug at that point. One night stands aren't the problem, it's all about how you deal with them.
None of which is to say that Doug's own emotional arc wasn't quite adequate in itself, but it was so restful to watch a movie that managed to portray the crudity of that kind of all-male environment without being offensive.
In actual hockey news, I am excited for game 6 tomorrow! I was surprised the Devils managed to pull off 4 and 5, but I don't think they'll be able to win four in a row. Go Kings! \o/
Goon was charming. I was kind of iffy about it because it's all about a guy becoming an enforcer, and I'm not really into hockey fights between guys who are actually able to hit each other because that shit's dangerous (I will admit to being amused by hockey fights between guys who are super terrible at it). But the movie was also kind of sketched out by it! It understands the appeal to the spectators and why the players like it, but is also pretty aware that people get fucked up out there and that it's not really the noblest thing ever. I was also super impressed by the movie's politics: the lead, Doug, is Jewish, his brother is gay, and the female lead is so, so great. Eva first shows up as a girl who is into fucking hockey players, sometimes behind her boyfriend's back, but it's an amazingly non-judgemental portrait. Fucking hockey players isn't the problem, the problem is only that she's doing it while trying to be monogamous. Plus they managed to write a woman whose story arc was largely about her sex life while not sexualising her much at all. The actress is beautiful, and it's made obvious that the movie agrees that she's really attractive - Doug keeps complimenting her, she obviously has fucked lots of hockey players in the past, etc. - but she wears all her clothes all the time, the clothes are super casual jeans and flannel, and most of the shots of her are of her face. Which all helps to make it a real arc about her own emotional issues (surprise, surprise, she's more into Doug than her ex) and her right to date someone she's actually into, rather than about casual sex being bad. I wasn't super into Doug letting her ex punch him for "stealing" Eva, but at least that was in character because Doug is a very black and white kind of guy who thinks punches solve things, and it's shot, like all the fights, super unsentimentally.
The character who does get judged for sex is the male secondary lead, Xavier, but it's also really clear that he's being judged for being a dick about it and not having enough sense to avoid making sextapes. There's an excellent scene where Xavier, his one night stand, and Eva are awkwardly hanging out at his and Doug's apartment, and the problem is definitely that Xavier is a dick who doesn't remember his girl's name, rather than that she shouldn't have fucked him, or comparing her to Eva who is totally in a relationship with Doug at that point. One night stands aren't the problem, it's all about how you deal with them.
None of which is to say that Doug's own emotional arc wasn't quite adequate in itself, but it was so restful to watch a movie that managed to portray the crudity of that kind of all-male environment without being offensive.
In actual hockey news, I am excited for game 6 tomorrow! I was surprised the Devils managed to pull off 4 and 5, but I don't think they'll be able to win four in a row. Go Kings! \o/
